Russia bombs Ukraine's energy sector as temperatures plummet

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Former US President Donald Trump welcomes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the stage at a Turning Point Action campaign rally at the Gas South Arena on October 23, 2024, in Duluth, Georgia. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team have yet to sign the customary documents allowing the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct background checks on his nominees for important government posts, and it’s unclear whether those nominees will receive FBI background checks at all.  The background checks flag any serious concerns about the nominees — not just criminal activity but financial issues or relationships that could compromise their ability to carry out their jobs. They are also the basis for security clearances necessary for high-level national security officials tasked with handling sensitive information.  The checks are meant to reveal whether there’s reason to believe these potential officials might misuse the power of their offices or if they have any vulnerabilities that might be exploited, either by US citizens or foreign adversaries.   It’s possible that the FBI will be asked to do background checks next year. According to a report in the Guardian, Trump will request the background checks once his own officials are posted at the Department of Justice, which oversees the FBI. The transition team is reportedly relying on internal vetting as well as outside law firms and unspecified allied groups to conduct the background checks, but the FBI is better equipped and has the training and capacity necessary to conduct these investigations.  An FBI background check for political appointees is only customary; there’s no legal backing for it. No other branch of government can compel the nominees to undergo them. Trump himself has been skeptical of the FBI, so it’s not that surprising that he’s eschewed the background checks. But they do serve several important purposes. Here’s what you need to know about the FBI background checks. What’s the standard background check process? The FBI background check process is straightforward, if arduous.  First, the incoming administration signs a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Justice outlining what kinds of information they are looking for about their nominees and what resources the DOJ can provide to help uncover that information. Nominees who will be working in national security have to fill out a special form (the same one the  Department of Defense uses in evaluating staff for security clearances). The FBI can question the nominee and their contacts if necessary but cannot collect documents or compel evidence. Cooperation is voluntary, but as Llewelyn Engel, an attorney at the Washington, DC, firm Emery Will & Henry, told Vox, “From an interview perspective, if the FBI calls you to ask about somebody, you might be more forthcoming” than with a law firm or other private entity conducting investigations.  Once complete, the full background check then goes to the president-elect who, based on the findings, can either refer the nominee to the Senate or decide to withdraw the nomination. If the nomination is for a high-level position, like a Cabinet member or an ambassador, the investigations go to the appropriate Senate committee — for example, the Senate Armed Services Committee for a Defense secretary nominee. “The Senate committee is in charge of looking at all this information, so they’ll get a big binder of all the material, and they can also do their own investigations as well,” Engel said. “They can always request that more information is collected about this individual.” Again, the process isn’t mandated by law. The practice started when President Dwight Eisenhower chose to have his nominees subject to a background check and has continued since then. Is Trump following the usual process? Thus far, Trump has deviated from the usual process, although the incoming administration did sign other important transition agreements with the Biden White House on Tuesday.  The Biden administration told Politico that “progress has been made towards an agreement” between the Trump team and the DOJ, but how much progress remains unclear. “The Trump-Vance transition lawyers continue to constructively engage with the Biden-Harris Administration lawyers regarding all agreements contemplated by the Presidential Transition Act,” Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for Trump’s transition team, told NPR. “We will update you once a decision is made.” The Justice Department said in a statement that it is “prepared to deliver briefings to the transition team on our operations and responsibilities, and we stand ready to process requests for security clearances for those who will need access to national security information.” Why isn’t Trump following the standard process? No other president-elect has eschewed the FBI background check process “in recent memory,” Heath Brown, a professor of public policy at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told Vox.  And Trump hasn’t said why he hasn’t tasked the FBI with doing background checks. He does, however, have a noted distrust of the FBI following investigations into his handling of secret documents after he left office in 2021, as well as FBI investigations into the January 6, 2021, insurrection and attempt to overturn the 2020 election.  And as previously noted, there’s no law requiring Trump to follow the normal process. Reps. Ted Lieu of California and Dan Beyer of Virginia introduced a bill in November to codify the practice in the law, but it hasn’t passed yet. Instead of following the typical process, Trump’s transition team plans to have the FBI checks go forward only after he has taken office — that is, after he is in control of the agency and has his own appointees in place, the Guardian reported Wednesday. According to that report, Trump also plans to grant blanket security clearances, though it’s unclear whether or how the DOD will be involved in that process.  What happens now? Without the FBI background checks, the various Senate committees can conduct their own investigations into nominees, according to Engel and Jennifer Selin, associate professor at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Those investigations may or may not become public. Even without FBI investigations, potential red flags with nominees will sometimes emerge through reporting. The press resurfaced allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of former Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz. And Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth’s alleged sex crime also came to light through news stories. Both men have denied wrongdoing. “The media is in some ways a good ally for the Senate because it’s not just the senators delving into and using their subpoena power and their background and connections with various agencies to get information and to conduct their own investigations,” Selin said.  The Senate will ideally begin confirmation hearings — with or without the FBI reports — before Inauguration Day on January 20, 2025.

Roll yourself AWAY to savings.

The Post's Dave Blezow returns for Season 31 of the Bettor's Guide to give his Week 13 NFL picks.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will attend separate events on opposite sides of the country next week.

A user keeps posting rude, insulting comments on our website, but our boss doesn’t seem inclined to do anything about it.

Virginia-based influencer Rebecca Chobat — aka TikTok’s Dollar Tree Dinners — wowed her followers with a multi-layered Turkey Day casserole that costs just $11.25, using instant mashed potatoes, canned turkey, stuffing, canned green beans and cranberries. Paired with mac-and-cheese and apple pie bars from the dollar store, the total came to an affordable $20, which...

Dustin Kjersem's death was initially reported as a bear attack after his girlfriend found his body in a tent on Oct. 12.

The president-elect has said Canada, China, and Canada could all be hit with tariffs once he takes office.

Social media users voted in a poll regarding $20 billion in funding for the federal tax-collection agency.

The 31-year-old had texted a friend saying she "got tricked into pretty much giving away all my funds," before a follow-up claimed she was supposedly hoodwinked “for someone I thought I loved.”

There's no place like home for Thanksgiving, or is there? According to WalletHub, these five cities are objectively the best places to visit for the holidays.

The sluggish recovery comes after a promising early-season snowpack in the Rockies.

Rain is falling across the northeast on Thursday morning, setting up what's bound to be a soggy Thanksgiving for dozens of states.

The video includes black-and-white footage of the couple singing cut with an animation of their family preparing for Christmas.

The “Desperate Housewives" alum explained why she doesn’t date much anymore.

The American naval group is composed of an aircraft carrier and three destroyer escorts.

We can’t go on like this anymore.

The Canadian-born performer was midway through the production at Edmonton's Citadel Theater when he suddenly collapsed.

Daniel Khalife, who escaped prison while awaiting trial, has been convicted of passing information to the Iranian government.

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Indira Viswanathan told Newsweek: "It genuinely makes me so happy to see people excited to watch my thrift flips."

Russia launched another attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure on Thursday, leaving over a million households without power and forcing emergency power to be implemented nationwide.

Dozens of flights have been cancelled and roads have been closed in travel chaos due to a lake effect during the Thanksgiving Holiday.

This drop in concern over the impact of the war on America was also felt more widely in the U.S., regardless of political affiliation.

More than 400 people were arrested in the operation targeting oceans, coasts, rivers and ports around the globe in October and November.

Here's everything you need to know about the 2024 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Cooking helped me discover Los Angeles and forge friendships by inviting people over to taste-test. Now holidays like Thanksgiving are less lonely than they once were.

Donald Trump posted notable gains in Orange County during the election, but it was not enough to win the increasingly purple county that has become a suburban battleground between Republicans and Democrats — and a reflection of the demographic political realignment unfolding across the nation.

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The Grants Pass ruling clears the way for punitive measures against homeless people. Officials from San Diego to San Francisco are all too eager to oblige.

From choosing which foods to eat to interacting with family, several wellness experts offered their top tips for navigating Thanksgiving in the healthiest possible way.

Philippines-held Thitu island is the only naturally occurring Spratly Islands feature to host a civilian population.

A reader says that two articles on housing advocacy show the difference between helping struggling residents and sticking it to nicer neighborhoods.

Wishing for the good old days of college sports ignores something important: In those good old days, players were exploited.

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The work stoppage at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas marks the first open-ended strike in more than two decades for the Culinary Workers Union, the largest labor union in Nevada.